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Keaton Henson

Keaton Henson’s debut album, ‘Dear...’, was released quietly in late 2010, in a limited edition run, hand-made by Keaton. Here were simple, tender songs, stripped to the marrow, and written without the desire to be heard... though they sold out almost immediately. Fast forward to September 2011 and BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe is threatening to play ‘You Don’t Know How Lucky You Are’ twice in a row, triggering a frenzy of investigations into Keaton’s identity. Amidst a growing audience and a wealth of critical acclaim, Keaton chose not to perform or promote his record in a conventional manner – he was simply compelled to write the next album.

Its critically acclaimed follow-up, ‘Birthdays’, went even further. Keaton began to take tentative steps in to the live arena, first performing one-on-one for fans as a projection from within a dollhouse in an art gallery. Then, eventually, venturing to play conventional gigs - but in unconventional venues (such as a tour of museums after hours). Unannounced, tickets sold out in a little over an hour, and were greeted with 5-star reviews.

What followed was ‘Romantic Works’, his first collection of classical compositions. More recently, he has scored ‘Young Men’, a full-length ballet opening at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. A fully immersive production of Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ – whichsold out two nights at London’s Oval Space, in association with The Barbican. He has also released his first poetry book 'idiot verse', as well as a surprise electronic side project entitled ‘Behaving’.